Deputy Human Rights Minister: Revision of Human Rights Law guarantees protection for activists

Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto has guaranteed that the Draft Law on Amendments to Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights will provide full legal protection for activists. “They are assured of definite legal protection so they cannot be prosecuted or criminalised when conducting peaceful, non-violent advocacy,” Mugiyanto said during a Public Test of the Human Rights Bill in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Monday. According to him, the government is seriously conducting public test activities to absorb substantive input directly from academics, activists, students, and business actors in various regions, including East Kalimantan. “We as the government want to be completely open to absorbing aspirations so that the resulting regulatory product is not unilateral from top to bottom,” he said. This step was taken to ensure that the future governance of the human rights ecosystem can forge better synergy among stakeholders. Regarding institutional matters, the Ministry of Human Rights affirmed its position to maintain the existence of the four national human rights institutions in their entirety so that their functions remain strong within society. Mugiyanto explained that besides the issue of activist protection, the Human Rights Bill also provides legal certainty regarding digital rights, affirming equal treatment between the online and offline realms. “This draft bill officially introduces the ‘right to be forgotten’ to protect a person’s future,” he said. The new regulation allows a person to request the removal of their past records on various social media platforms based on an official determination from a binding court ruling. Another substantial breakthrough presented in this bill is the establishment of an Endowment Fund for the Advancement of Human Rights and Democracy, managed through a trusteeship system. “This fund is a trust fund sourced from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget as well as other legitimate sources such as philanthropy,” Mugiyanto revealed. He explained that the endowment fund will later be managed directly by a special committee composed of representatives from civil society groups, academics, and the government. According to him, through this funding scheme, various civil society groups with democracy advancement programmes can immediately submit official funding proposals. “This financial support is expected to strengthen the work of indigenous community advocates down to the grassroots level in reaching areas that have so far been untouched by the government,” Mugiyanto said.